September 28, 2013

Harry Reid: House CR vote "Pointless"

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called an anticipated vote in the House of Representatives Saturday on a budget plan that would delay the Affordable Care Act, for a year a "pointless" exercise.

The House's action and Reid's comments upped the prospects of a federal government shutdown on Tuesday.

“Today’s vote by House Republicans is pointless," Reid said in a statement. "As I have said repeatedly, the Senate will reject any Republican attempt to force changes to the Affordable Care Act through a mandatory government funding bill or the debt ceiling. Furthermore, President Obama has stated that he would veto such measures if they ever reached his desk."

He added: "To be absolutely clear, the Senate will reject both the one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act and the repeal of the medical device tax. After weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one: Republicans must decide whether to pass the Senate’s clean CR, or force a Republican government shutdown."